Most criminal convictions are reached through plea deals or bargains. As the name suggests, a plea deal is an arrangement where a defendant accepts the offer to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for reduced punishment. However, a plea deal does come with...
To convict someone of a criminal offense, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused broke the law. Before a police officer can arrest you, they need probable cause to believe a criminal act has occurred. Just making a few mistakes at the wheel...
If someone is using drugs with a friend or another person who appears to be overdosing, they may think twice before calling 911 for help. They may fear that they’ll be arrested on drug-related charges. Sadly, those who are alone when they overdose may also fear...
You didn’t commit a crime – as far as you’re concerned. But you know someone who did. Maybe it’s a family member or friend. Maybe they came over to your house and asked to wash some bloody clothes in your washing machine. Maybe they gave you some stolen jewelry to...
Some drugs require special items to use them. The people who use these drugs will often have paraphernalia around them. Police officers can initiate an arrest based on those items. Drug paraphernalia charges can also stem from the items that are used to make drugs or...
Many lawmakers have had a longstanding critique regarding our justice system because it focuses too much on being punitive instead of rehabilitative. Many proponents of the drug court systems that have been created here in South Dakota and all across the U.S. see...
If the police knock (or pound) on your door, do you know what to do to protect yourself and your family? Your actions in the moments and minutes after they arrive at your door wanting inside determine the trajectory of your future — or in some cases, whether you have...
There are many duties that police officers have when they’re on patrol. One of these is to try to keep the streets safe. This entails many things, one of which is keeping drunk drivers off the roads. In order to do this, they have to try to determine which drivers...